Hot-air heating system



Sept. 16 1924,

hm J. c3. Mmm

HOT MQR HEATING SYSTEM Patented Sept. 16, 1924.

JAMES C. MILES, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

HOT-AIR HEATING SYSTEM.

Application filed December 13, 1920.

T0 all'wiom t may conferir,

Be it known that l.` .lanas .elliot-1s, a citizen of: the United Stati-4Cleveland, in the eoinitj," of nia State of Cthio, have invented a anduseful Improvement in Het ing Svstenis, of which the tollen .nf is nuil, clear, and exact description, referentie being had to theaooonnian'iving drawings.

My invention j system, one objyeot beine; ti provide 's1 teni withineens 'for inoolnuiieaily iinfrensing the air pressure so as to insureproper do livery of the heated air troni the 'tornare under allconditions.

Another object is to provide a heating s vstein, which ma;7 operate inconjunction with a ian, but so arranged that. the air in the svsteniniav also properlv eirrulnte by gravityY when the lan is out otoperation.

it tiurtlrer olrieet, is the provision ot a hen t responsive means torautonnit;ioalh: st Si ping the 'tan when the Vtemperature .in the`system tails below n predettfnniined. point.

Another object is to provide a eonibiinrtion of a set ot resistaneef'la'n'npers with a motor driven ian arranged so that a buildingl up otthe resistanoe or pressure in the s vsteni may he relieved at apredeterinined. point so as to prevent' overheating the inotor. AnotherObjectis to provide means in suoli a svstein whereby the hot air whichis allowed to escape bv` the pressure relieving dainpers, may be trappedand returned to the system.

A `further object is to provide dainpers made ot veryY light materialand adapted to permit oi accurate adjustment so that the pressure atwhich the relief takes place may be readily and zn'mu'atelv varied.

A still 'further object is the provision oi a danuier which shall benoiseless in oper ation. thereby removing a great objet-,tion to theord'lnari7 dampers heretofore ein ployed, which are very apt to squeakas they n'love.

Frn'ther objects ot the invention will he apparent in the course ot the-following specification and olaiins in whieh a preferred arrangement otelen'ients embodying my invention is shown in use with. a heatingsystem.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. Al a view oi a heating system arrangedin aeeordanoe with my invention and partly in section; Fig. 2 1s a frontView oit the ilan.

f seotnnial vien' on the line 3, Fig. i

Serial No. 430,160.

and. (ilanuiers showing an alnrn'ovod torni o't` mounting ot' theselia-.ililiei's; Fig.

l is a section on the line iwi, i a '.tmgnlenta u riew oi a port 'on otlt fi on an enlarged scale: Eig.. ti n. horizon tal projeotion takenfrom 4the furnace side of the dalnpers and shows the d; pero in aninward position: Fin' a diagramnia'tio sho'ni. ei wl'iereby the heatresl ns niali tin/ern the actuation ol. thek itan: nf n is a sectionthrough. a portion ot." the ii'aine and damp-- ers showing the danipernin open position and illustrating` a yieldable stop "for the danipers;Fig. 9 is a section similar to Fig. 8 showing the closed position ot thedampers; and Fig. i() is :in elevation itroin tln1 heatingl chamber sideot the dampors showing the Vpositimi ot the` stops as applied to thedalnpers.

ln order to euuse the heating system to be operable by gravity, lmieterably nrlaitge my itiireing 'fan and. daiupers adju Cent theordinariAT lower inlet oil Athe hot air tinfnnee. il() illustratessuoliv a i'nrnaee; 'il is the ronduit leadingl iron] the outer air to aChamber 12, in which the lian 13 is mounted, this 'lian being preferablyplaced adjacent the openingl `into the turnaee 'lroni ehaniber l2. andhaving adjacent thereto the n1 otl dampers llt. The dainpers let asshown are arranged in two series oooupying the two ends oi therectangular Atraine on opposite sides ot the central. plates 22, laterdescribed. While these dampers are shown as surrounding the inotor andmounted in a inanner which will be present@T described, it is evidentthat the dampers inight be placed. at points more or less remotethere'lfroin. The an nia-y also be placed back in the conduit ll itdesired, though the arrangement shown is ifound to be very tonveniontand ellioient.

Y.in the constructiim illustrated, the dampers i-i are supported in a:traine inado up o t the angle irons 2t), 21, cfmneeted at their ends to'torni a rectangular traine. Adj-.n cent the middle portions oit. theangle irons 2i are seoured the plates 22, having npstanding `flanges 23projecting 'from the saine side o'i these plates as the opstandingtlanges ot the angle members Q1, while a ring 24 having the upstanding`flange 25 is oarried on this tac-e of the plates, the 'flange havingits center coincident with the CTI liti

` as they move.

for seating the pivot rods B0 is found to an L-.sliaped member center ofthe rectangular frame, and having a diameter equal to the distancebetween the flanges of the angle ironsl 2l. p The flanges 25 and 23therefore intersect and as shown7 the flanges 23 are suitably notched toallow `the )assaffe' of the lian-0e 25. The u )standl s s l lng flangesdescribed provide means for holding the pivot rods 30, bushings 31,.which are preferably made of brass, being inserted in openings in theflanges, as shown in Fig.l 6 Vto retain. these rods.v This constructionpreventssquealt' of the dampers The provision of bushings preventsquealing ofthe dampers in operation, and thus do Vaway with one ofthedisadvantages ordinarily attendant on the use of suc-h1 dampers. Thedampers 14 are preferably made of aluminum so as to be exceedingly lightand allow their readyadjustment.v` vThese rdampers may be made shown',of sheet aluminum, having their free ends 14 bent at anV angle vand theother end portion i curled around a rod 30 which open outwardly to aVsufficient extent to to pass over theV allow the members 14 pivot 30 ofthe. adjacent lower damper before. an escape of air will be allowed fromthe furnace. The exact amount of pressure Vrequired to thusopcn thedampers, may be varied lby bendmgvthe members to a differentv angularposition, and although w h t-he constructie 't the dampers shown,

the V'damper-s w ghtl'y inclined i y pas-s ge of air, this effect i' t,l to provide damper-s which '-ill preven ready passage inward until ,acertain oressure is obtained ou the inner surfacerot the d ampcrs. vltis apparent that this result might bev attained by the use of dampersconstructed to lie vertically and having a spring means resistingoutward butnot fresistmg inward motion, or any slmilar construction. Allsuch forms and others fulfilling the objectsabove mentioned come withinthe scope of my invention. i

ThiloA the function of the .inward opening to allow additional ingressof air might be dispensed with, auch an arrangement n ould' prevent thesecuring of a gravity atward escape of air, but which will allow itsactuation of my system which I consider important, because. heretoforethe objection to the use of a fan in connection with a heating chamberof a furnace has been that when the switch was open, so that the fan wasinoperative, it was impossible for the heating chamber to secure therequisite amount of air, with the result that furnaces so provided haveoften been burned out.

lt will be seen that by bending the portions 32 at a different angle,the dampers may be caused to operate at a different pressure to releasethe air from the heating chamber.

Another feature of the inward opening of the dampers i to increase theelliciency of the fan in -forcing air into the furnace, though afterpressure has been built up in the heating` chamber of the furnace thedempers maintain pressure in the chamber.

The'spider l() which carries the fan motor 13, has two of its armsbolted or otherwise fastened to the angle irons 2l, the remaining twoarms being shown as attached to the-ring 24, the center of the spiderwhich carries the motor being centrally mounted on the frame and the'tan beingl surrounded by lthe systems of dampers described, This fanpreferably of the disk type which serres to positively build up apressure in .the furnace chamber and may be connected to have itsoperation controlled by means of a heat responsive device 50, which isvpreferably mounted in the upper portion of the` heat chamber of thefurnace 10. This hea-t responsive means 5() may be composed of an outerpipeor tube preferably iron 5l, and a smaller rod of brass or the like52, mounted to extend inward of and nearly in contact with the closedend of tube 51. A bushing :33 of insulating material serves to hold themember 52 in place.

lt will be apparent that upon an increase of temperature, on account ofthe greater c nt of expansion of the' brass, thev end of the member willgradually tip-- preach the closed end of member 551 and eventuallycontact therewith This member is connected se to control. the operationof th motor so that whenever the contact is made between members 52 and5l. cui-rein sent through the fau motor to artuate the same.

ln Fig. 7 an arrangement of circuits to -ccomplish this result is shown.The line wire 60 4is connected to the primary coil (il ot' atransformer, whosel other end is connected with the return line G2,while shunted across the iliriniary circuit of the transformer islhecircuit (Sil leadingr to the fau 13. The circuit (lil. however` isbroken when the .solenoid rod (H is out of contact. with the contactpoint (l5` which occurs whcncrcr thc members 5l and 5:2 arc out olcontact with lili) each other. For this purpose the solenoid 64 isuconnected in series with the secondary coil 66 ot the transformer andwith the heat responsive members 5l and 52 ot' member 50, so `.that whenthe coifitact in nreinber 50 is broken no current passes through thesecondary circuit oit the transformer vand therefore the niotoreireuitis broken at b5; ill/Then, hoivr-tverq the Contact is inade at5t) current flows through the seeondary Voireuit and. `pulls thesolenoid trl into Contact with the contact 635,; thereby sending currentthrough the tan motor. The yobject in providing a transformer for theniei'nber o0 is to Vprevent destructive si'iiarking, which would beoceasioned on aeeount ofthe slow relative motion of ineinbers and 52.,it, t'or instance, 4an ordinary ll@ volt circuit beused toi" operati-ngthe fau, 'such voltage would `quickly burn the endet the -niember 52 andprevent its correct operation. 'The voltage in the secondary circuitshould therefore be reduced, tour to six `yolts beiner tound verysatistafcl'ory. lhe temperature at u'hieh the member 5l) should. beClosed `should be in the neighbon hood. of 200 to )todo lilihreiihetdepeni'ling; somewhat upon the pa'rtirular hea-tinge; sys tieni,V theobject" being` to turn on the tan when the air temperature is in theneighbor hood ot '1400 to 160D Fahrenheit, the latter beingI thesterilizingn vtemperature tor air. On account of conduction ot heattroni the turnaeeto the inelnber 50, the temperature at which theconnection is niade inust be considerably greater than the desired ternperature to be obtained. by the air, because the member 50 will beconsiderably hotter than the surrounding air.

The pressure reliet provided by the damper-s .is an import-ant featureot .my system in allowingtlie use ot a n'iuch smaller -fan and `motor`without danger ot overheating! and burning out ofthe rnotor. It no suchrelief were provided, the pressure built up would be likely to hold thelian and ca-use the overheating and burning out of the motor, while withthe opening of the dainpers outwardly when a `certain pressure isobtained, this can not take place. Tt will be` seen, `how`eve.1,th atthis pressure reliet does not involvean undue lossof heat, since all oraflarge proportion of the escaping air will ordinarily be largelytrapiied in the chamber 12 and returned to the system by the fan,sot-hat the `main result is the mere eii'eulation ot 'the air about thetan. The provision .of the adjustable weights on the daniper will alsoallow a rea-dy adjustment ofthe aniount of pressure required to open thedalnpers. 4I have found for heating" a siii: `to eight room houser` thatthe dainpers shbuld be desu ned to open outwardly art the pressure olone-fourth ot an ouni'e per square inch`approxiniately. But for largerbuildings and when a. larger tan is being used,` the desired pressuremight be somewhat ditlerent and this could be readily taken care ol" bythe adjustable arrangement ot the weights.

ln Fig. 5, l have shown the dainpers in normal position by 'full lines,which position is maintained so loin;l as the ttoree exerted by theweights 3E greater than the force exerted by air pressure within thechamber ll) upon the venes il. llrnrerer, as the air pressureincreases,the `venes are swung; to a vertical position as shown in the dot anddash linesI and upon tui-ther increase, the vanes are swung outwardly9as shown in the dotted lines, whereupon the pressure is relieved, .andthe load on the tan correspond ingly diminished.

ln the operation ot the device the pro vision of the heat responsivenieans prevents actuation ot' the tan before suiiieient heat has beendeveloped in the iturnaee to warrant it. The turning on oit the tan,while the tire is still low7 is likely to result in checkinnl or evenputting; out ol the lire., it there is any leali troni the tire chamberto 'the heating; ehuinber. lin addi ion to tl'iis1 how over5 theoperation o' tl :ie tan at suoliv a time involves the waste oteleirtrieal power.

When they tan is slarterh the inerease ot air pressure within thechamber causes the dampers to swing` toward a vertical posi tion, thuspreventing; the escape of air until a 'predetermined Luessure is reaJhed. Thus the sl artinn ot the 'lan automatically changes a eravitysystem to a. toreed air system. il'hen the pressure is built up..however7 to a sullieient extent to move the bent portions li outwardlyaway 'troni the pivot ot the next lower damper, reliet olf pressure willbe allowed as already ernilaiiied.

iVly invention has heretotore been described enlbculyinnl a structurehaving a 'lian and al damper associated therewith, with the dainpersarranged to permit the escape ot air in the event of excessive pressurewithin the Vheating): chamber. ln Figs. 8 to l0, however, l haveillustrated the dempers as havinnl yieldable members 5) associatedtherewitln which members comprise means for stomiingr the (la-inpers'troni further movement after they have been moved to closed position.Thus? l provide a positive stop l'or the dalnpers and thereby ellert asatisfactory closure when the tan is set in motion. Moreover, when thefan is in motion,v all ot the air entering' the chamber is caused toflow through the tan aijierture; while when the 'tan is stoppechsutiicient air is still provided :lor the norinal operation o'lI thenfravi ty system.

lllhile l have desnfibed specilic torni. of my invention, it is apparentthat many changes inay be. made therein. and many embodiments ol' theidea may be devised.

lila() and the foregoing description is therefore to be taken as.illustrative and not restrictive.

claim I. In a device of the character described, the combination with aheating chamber, of a fan for forcing air into said chamber, meansnormally allowing` the passage of air into said chamber, said meansbeing arranged to yieldably resist the esca-pe of air therefrom, andadapted at a predetermined pressure to permit the passage of air in areverse direction.

ln a heating ajiiparatus, the vcombina-r tion with aflieating chamberhaving an air inlet, of a trame positioned across the inlet, a tanmounted within tlie trame, dampers intermediate the lan and sides of thetraine, said dampers being open when the 'hin is iii-- ojiici'ative,aniliidaptcd to be closed when the. il'an i is set in. operation.

3. In aheatingapparatus,the combination f with a heating chamlier havingan air inlet,

ol' a. fan Vfor forcing air into said chamber, a

secono chamber adjacent said inlet, a pas-` sageway between saidchambers, a yieldable said damper being arranged to allow passage ofair-'from the second chamber into the heating chamber, and to j.n'jo'i'ide lior a passage ol" air in a reverse direction by excesspressui'i'xy within the heating' chamber.

t. In Va heating apparatus, the combinai- Vtion with a heatingchamberhaving anair inlet, of a rectangular frame lpositioned across theinlet, and occupying substantially Ythe entire areathereof, a`motor-driven 'fan mounted within the frame adjacent the central portionthereof, and yieldable dampers carried by the frame and disposed on .oneside of the fan,v whereby air may enter the chamber through the fanopening to the eX- cliision oi' the damper opening, when the :tan is inoperation.

Y In a heating apparatus, the combination with a heating chamber, ofmeans operable to force air into said chamber, saidchamber having an airvinlet adjacent said means, a damper extending across said inlet andarranged to swing normally toward the chamber for allowing access of airinto said chamber when the forcing means is not operating, said damperbeing' also arrangedto swing away from the chamber and across the inletvwhen the fan is set in motion whereby the passage throughthe fanconstitutes the only inlet into the chamber.

6. In a device of vthe character described,

the combination of a chamber, a fan for forcing air into said chamber,dampers adjacent said fan and adapted to allow the passage of additionalair into saidchamber.

and to retard its escape until a predetermined lpressure is obtained,said dampers Having thus 'described my invention, I

being adapted to allow air withinthe chamber to escape when saidpressure is exceeded, and to allow a free inlet of air to the chaniberwhen the fan is not operating.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination with apressure chamber having an air inlet, of a frame positioned across theinlet, a fan mounted on the frame, for forcing air into said chamber,and a damper associated with the frame, the damper being arranged tooperate at a predetermined pressure for permitting thc escapefot airfrom said chamber.

8. In a heating apparatus, the combination with a. heating chamberhaving an air inlet, ol a conduit leading to said chamber and having achamber therein adjacent the heating chamber, mechanical means for'forcing :ii-r il'roin the second chamber into sii-id lirst mentionedchamber, and a pressure responsive means operable at a predetermineiilpressure to allow escape oi' airvback into thcsccond chamber.

S). In combination, a pressure chamber having an air inlet, a frameextending across the inlet, a series of dampers pivotally mounted withinthe frame, a fan in'comniiinication with the inlet and means ais-i sociated with the d ai'iipers for inclin ingl them normally 1n one'directiou,whereby the inlet et air to the chamber and through the dampers allowed,said means being aiI range-fil to retard the escape o'l air from the"rlnimber when a predetermilied pressure is obtained therein and topermit the entrance ci' airto the chamber only through the lan.

l0. In combination, a pressure chamber having an air inlet', a `traineacross the inlet, aseries olf dampers positioned one above the other andpivoted to the frame, means associated with the dampers for incliningthem normally to 7ard thechamber, and a 'an carried by the frame andpositioned adjacent said dampers, whereby the air passageway into thechamber is through both the fan is inV motion.

l1. In combination, a pressure chamber having an inlet, a series ofdempers pivota-lly mounted across said inlet, means associated with thedampers for normally resisting an outward motion thereof, each of saiddampers having vinwardly extending portions 'onv the free e-nd thereof.whereby escape of air may be prevented until the dampers have openedoutwardly to a predetermined extent.

12. In a device of the character described, the combination withapressure chamber having an air inlet therein, of a frame mountedadjacent said inlet, a fan carried by the iframe, and a series of.dampers disposedl lilo , 11() the fan and dampers when the fan is notin motion but is only through the fan when mogen whereby seid dnnnieie n(Torri, voinninnieuton hetmveen the ehnn'iher und the :itinosliheiifi::tir when open, und \\'*i'1erehy nonnnni'lieet'ioli hetween theelnllnher und the atmosphere is; provided through the :lien oliienng,when the dzunpers are closed.

13. In combination, n heating chamber, having an air inlet, l damper, efen for foreing nir into Said chamber, Seid damper being arranged topermit the passage of eil' into the elnunher Vwhen the i'nn is not inoperan tion, und seid, demper being pneulnateelly closed hy en' Withinthe ehzunber when the hin is in operation.

M. In combination e heating' chamber hfiviiig :tn nh? inlet, :l I'nn ior'towing nir into thel uinmiher throng-h the 'inielj u, Lhnnper:ieeoeiulml with the inlet the dumpen heink@x so poeitioned that lwhenthe :hin is; not :in operation, nir passes .into the ehmnhel' throughhoth the demper opening` and the 'fen opening', Suid chunpel beingpneumaticnl- 1y closed by nir Within the chamber when the en is inelw/ration`v whereby all of the air enteringthe ehunlher then flowsthrough the fzln opening.

In testimony whereof, hereunto unix my Signntliire.

JAMES C. MILES.

